DPRK fires 2 cruise missiles off west coast: ROK military

SEOUL - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired two cruise missiles off its west coast on Sunday, the military of the Republic of Korea (ROK) said Wednesday.

An ROK military official, who declined to be identified, told Xinhua that two projectiles, estimated to be two cruise missiles, were launched westward from the DPRK's west coast on Sunday morning.

The official said the projectiles were detected through the ROK's military assets, noting that the military was analyzing further details such as the exact missile type.

According to Yonhap news agency, the cruise missiles traveled into the western waters in a short range.

It marked the first missile test-firing since April 14, 2020, when the DPRK test-launched multiple short-range cruise missiles into the eastern waters.

An unnamed government official of the ROK was quoted by Yonhap as saying that it was not in violation of UN Security Council resolutions that ban Pyongyang from testing ballistic missiles.

Senior US officials also confirmed on Tuesday that the DPRK tested a short-range system over the weekend while downplaying the test as normal military activity.

The DPRK's missile launch came after the ROK and the United States conducted their annual springtime military exercises on March 8-18.